Over the past decades, flat and spacious coastal areas have been seen various usages and development. The contention and conflict between human development and natural conservation along the coastal area occur all around the world. The project, Aogu Wetland and Forest Park, is located in the southwest area of Taiwan, and has experienced different stages of development before it eventually reverted to natural wetland. On the estuary of the Bei-Gang River, the site was a typical tidal mud wetland before 1964. The site began the C-shaped seawall construction and reclaimed over 1,000-hectare of lands from sea in 1964 because of the farming and livestock industry. Historically, the land was desalinated and prepared for a sugar plantation, a pig farm and a fish farm. After the land subsided and several serious inundation events by the sea occurred, the soil become saline and the production of sugar ceased on the site. In 2001, the site was selected as an afforestation area. The landscape and habitat have changed dramatically in the past 40 years, and the site now consists of a combination of natural wetland and artificial woodland. The Aogu Wetland and Forest Park comes from this changing process of environment. Aogu Wetland and Forest Park is the showplace of the process of natural systems. The site has been reclaimed and reverted back to a coastal wetland, which unexpectedly has become a refuge for migratory birds and other wildlife. The aim of this project focuses on establishing a series of conservation and re-habitation strategies on sites reclaimed for human development, and emphasizes the site as a seeding process for the natural systems, as well as environmental education, eco-tourism and cultural sustainability.

2011 ASLA Professional Award of Excellence (Analysis and Planning)

https://www.asla.org/2011awards/217.html

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